About the AgriFutures Australia privacy policy

give individuals a better and more complete understanding of the sort of personal information AgriFutures Australia holds, and the way we handle that information.

If you would like to request the privacy policy in an alternate format (e.g. for the vision impaired), please contact the Privacy Officer. Reasonable steps will be taken to provide alternate access.

This privacy policy is reviewed and updated annually. Updates will be provided on our website and through our email lists. The privacy policy was last reviewed March 2014.

Our obligations under the Privacy Act

This privacy policy sets out how we comply with our obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act). As an Australian Government agency, we are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act which regulate how government agencies collect, use, store and disclose personal information, and how individuals may access and correct personal information held about them.

Personal information

Personal information is defined in s 6(1) of the Privacy Act as ‘information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:

whether the information or opinion is true or not, and

whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not’.

What constitutes personal information will vary, depending on whether an individual can be identified or is reasonably identifiable in the particular circumstances. For example, personal information could include:

a name or address

bank account details

photos or videos

information about an individual’s traits, their opinions or where they work

Note: information does not have to include an individual’s name to be personal information. For example, in some cases, a date of birth and postcode may be enough to identify a person.

Sensitive information

Sensitive information is a subset of personal information with additional requirements under the Privacy Act.

Sensitive information is defined in the Privacy Act as:

information or an opinion about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, membership of a professional or trade association, membership of a trade union, sexual preferences or practices, or criminal record that is also personal information;

health information about an individual;

genetic information about an individual; or

biometric information that is to be used for the purpose of automated biometric verification/identification and biometric templates.

Types of personal information collected and held

We may collect and hold a variety of personal information, as included in the table below.

racial or ethnic origin
trade or professional associations and memberships
union membership
criminal record
health information

Anonymity

In some situations, we provide the option for individuals to not identify themselves or use a pseudonym when dealing with AgriFutures Australia (unless it is impracticable to do so, or the department is legally required to deal with individuals who identify themselves).

For example, these situations could include when seeking general information about a program, grant or consultation process. Identification will generally only be necessary where it would be inappropriate not to identify yourself, such as if you are enquiring about the status or details of your own application for a particular program.

Collection of your personal information

Why AgriFutures Australia collects your personal information

Where AgriFutures Australia collects and holds your personal information, it is collected and held for our business purposes, which are generally to provide services to you.

We collect and hold a broad range of personal information in records relating to:

individuals participating in programs and initiatives that we fund

the management of contracts and funding agreements

individuals on our committees or participating in a meeting or consultation with us

correspondence from members of the public or organisations to us

complaints (including complaints relating to privacy) and feedback provided to us

requests made to us under the Freedom of Information Act 1982

requests for access to information we hold about you or other information about AgriFutures Australia’s operations

the performance of our legislative and administrative functions

employment and personnel matters for our staff and contractors

How AgriFutures Australia collects your personal information

We generally collect personal information from you when you communicate with us. We collect personal information through a variety of means including the use of forms (either electronic or hard copy), online portals, other electronic or paper correspondence (including emails and written correspondence) and, at times, verbal conversations or interviews.

In many cases, when we collect your personal information, we will issue you with a privacy notice explaining the purpose of the collection, the intended use of the personal information and to whom we may disclose it.

When we collect personal information about you, in the majority of cases, this will be information provided directly from you for the particular function or activity we are carrying out.

Other entities that may collect your personal information on behalf of the corporation

As well as collecting personal information directly from you, we may also collect your personal information through other individuals or organisations acting our behalf, including those such as contracted service providers. If this occurs, such collection will be in accordance with the APPs.

Unsolicited personal information

On occasion, unsolicited personal information is provided to AgriFutures Australia by individuals (or other entities) without it being requested. In such circumstances, we will determine whether or not we could have collected the personal information via our regular methods and if so we may use and handle the personal information as if we had collected it. If we determine that the personal information could not have been collected by us via our regular methods and the information is not contained in a Commonwealth record, we will destroy or de-identify the information provided it is lawful and reasonable to do so.

Information collected through our website and online services

A variety of information is collected by using our website and online services. Some of this may be personal information, which is summarised in the table below:

Information type

Treatment

Emails and electronic forms

Our servers may record your email address if you send us a message online. Your email address will not be added to a mailing list unless you have provided it to AgriFutures Australia in order to subscribe to one of our subscription services.

Where you choose to send us a completed electronic form that includes your personal details, AGriFutures collects personal information such as name, address and email address. The information collected by email or electronic forms will be used only for the purpose for which you provided it, unless an exception applies.

For those who do not wish to use the internet to transmit information, we provide alternative ways of providing information. For example, forms may be printed (or obtained in hard copy) and lodged by post.

Clickstream data

We make a record of your visit to the website and log the following information for statistical purposes: the user’s IP address, the date and time of the visit to the site, the web pages accessed and documents downloaded, the previous site visited, and the user’s web browser and operating system.

Google Analytics

In addition to web server logs, our website also uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Incorporated (Google). Reports obtained from Google Analytics are used to help improve AgriFutures Australia’ website. Google Analytics uses ‘cookies’ to help analyse how users use the site.

The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States of America. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of our website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.

By using our website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above. Please refer to Google’s privacy policy for further information.

Storing and securing personal information

We will take all reasonable steps to protect your personal information from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure, and against other misuse. Among other things, we take reasonable steps to safeguard our IT systems against unauthorised access, and ensure that paper-based files are secured. We also ensure that access to your personal information within our systems is only available to our staff that needs such access in order to do their work.

When the personal information that we collect is no longer required, we delete or destroy it in a secure manner, unless we are required to maintain it because of a law, or court or tribunal order.

This situation might arise where the Archives Act 1983 requires that we maintain your personal information because it is, or forms part of, a Commonwealth record. We are also required to maintain records for certain other purposes, including where the National Archives of Australia issues a disposal freeze in response to prominent or controversial issues or events. More information on current disposal freezes is available from the National Archives of Australia website.

Personal information held by third parties

Under the Privacy Act we are required to take measures to ensure that when your personal information is to be held by a third party, that the third party complies with the same privacy requirements applicable to the department.

We have privacy clauses in all of its legal documents, including funding contracts and deeds, services contracts and various other ad-hoc arrangements. This is to ensure third parties we deal with are required to handle personal information in accordance with the APPs.

Use and disclosure of your personal information

The purpose for collecting your personal information is important as it restricts how we can use and disclose your personal information, unless an exception in the Privacy Act applies.

Unless an exception applies, the corporation will:

only use or disclose your personal information for the primary purpose it was collected, and

notify you of this purpose at the time of collection, or as soon as practicable after collection.

We will only use or disclose your personal information for another purpose if you consent to that secondary purpose, or where you would reasonably expect us to use or disclose it for that secondary purpose (and the secondary purpose is related to the primary purpose).

AgriFutures Australia may disclose your personal information to a third party if the disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the life, health or safety of you or another person and it is unreasonable or impracticable to obtain your consent.

AgriFutures Australia may disclose your personal information to overseas recipients only in accordance with the Privacy Act. Overseas recipients are likely to be located in numerous countries.

If AgriFutures Australia holds any sensitive personal information about you, that information will only be used and disclosed by AgriFutures Australia if you have consented to such use and disclosure (your provision of that information will be taken to be consent), and will only be used and disclosed for the purpose that it was provided by you.

How to access and seek correction of personal information

Individuals have a right to request access to their personal information and to request its correction if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. Requests for access to or correction of personal information should be directed to our Privacy Officer.

We will take reasonable and practicable steps to provide you access and/or make a correction to your personal information within 30 calendar days, unless we consider there is a sound reason under the Privacy Act or other relevant law to withhold the information, or not make the changes.

If we do not provide you access to your personal information, or refuse to correct your personal information, where reasonable we will:

provide you with a written notice including the reasons for the refusal

provide you with information regarding available complaint mechanisms

at your request, take reasonable steps to associate a statement with the personal information that you believe it to be inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading

Otherwise, if we correct your personal information, at your request, we will also take reasonable steps to notify other agencies or organisations (bound by the Privacy Act) of the correction; if we have previously disclosed your personal information to those agencies or organisations.

How to make a complaint

You can make a complaint if you believe we have breached the APPs or mishandled your personal information. Complaints should be directed to our Privacy Officer whose details are provided below.

Privacy breaches can be caused by a variety of factors, affect different types of personal information and give rise to a range of actual or potential harm to individuals, agencies and organisations. Consequently, there is no single way of responding to a privacy breach. Each breach will need to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. All complaints and alleged privacy breaches will be investigated by the privacy officer and the complainant will be advised of the outcome.

Would you like to stay up-to-date?

AgriFutures Australia is the trading name for Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation (RIRDC), a statutory authority of the Federal Government established by the Primary Industries Research and Development Act 1989.

AgriFutures is a trade mark owned by Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation (RIRDC).

By subscribing you acknowledge you have read the AgriFutures Australia privacy policy and consent to your personal information being collected, held, used and disclosed in the manner and for the purposes stated there.